The Saints are sure to use three-receiver formations throughout Sunday's game, but injuries have forced the Lions to counter with three safeties and two cornerbacks in their nickel defense. The only other option for head coach Rod Marinelli is to put Travis Fisher at nickel and replace him at corner with second-year player Ramzee Robinson, who does not have much experience.

Marinelli said he does not have many options.

"No. No, we don't," he said. "If Fisher goes inside, then we're going with another young corner. Kalvin can go in there and he's a good one. Your matchups aren't what you'd like all the time, but you've got to deal with that."

Spreading the wealthBrees has thrown at least one touchdown to 11 different receivers, one shy of tying the single-season NFL record.

Still, Brees has yet to throw a scoring pass to his third-leading receiver, tight end Jeremy Shockey.

Shockey has 45 catches for 446 yards, but no touchdowns.

"We've come close a bunch of times," Brees said. "He's caught a lot of balls and caught a lot in some critical situations, but for one reason or another, he just hasn't had one in the end zone yet.

"I don't look at it as a big deal or a curse or anything like that. It's going to happen at some point. Hopefully, it'll happen this weekend, but we'll see."

So far this season, the Lions' defense has given up seven touchdowns to six different tight ends (Owen Daniels of the Texans caught two).

Lighting it upSince 2006, the Saints are the NFL's fifth best scoring team, putting up an average of 25.7 points per game. This season, the Saints are No. 1, averaging 27.9 points per contest. New Orleans also is averaging an NFL-best 401.6 yards per game.

The Saints also are very good at coverting in third-down situations, where they rank third in the league (45.1 percent). Meanwhile, the Lions defense gives up third downs at a 42.8 percentage clip (which ranks 23rd in the league).

Late bloomersThe Saints have 18 players on their roster who were not drafted, including their leading receiver (Lance Moore) and leading rusher (Pierre Thomas). Moore has 67 catches for 801 yards and eight touchdowns, and Thomas has rushed 116 times for 548 yards and eight touchdowns. Thirteen of those 18 players have played on an NFL practice squad.

Climbing the chartsIn 45 games with the Saints, Brees has 82 touchdown passes, and his 1,149 completions already ranks fourth on the team's all-time list. Brees has finished 18 games with a passer efficiency rating of 100 or more, and is likely to get No. 19 on Sunday, since opposing quarterbacks average a rating of 108.4 per game against the Lions. The Saints are 14-4 when Brees' quarterback rating tops 100.